Flat Belly Diet: What You Need to Know

We've mentioned that there is a certain amount of flexibility with the Flat Belly Diet. While there are certainly restrictions that some may find hard to follow, you should be able to stick to the plan and still eat a varied diet.

During the four-day, anti-bloat jumpstart, you'll face the most restrictions. This phase does offer quick results, but it will also be the biggest test of your willpower. During this time, you're supposed to eat between 1,200 and 1,400 calories each day while drinking two liters of "sassy water," a concoction of spicy citrus water (see sidebar for more information) [source: Zelman]. Consumables to avoid include:

After the anti-bloat portion, you're allowed to increase your caloric intake to 1,600 calories day, preferably split evenly among three meals and a snack, eaten in four-hour intervals. Besides offering recipes that stick to the guidelines, the Flat Belly brand also has replacement options to add a level of flexibility aimed to make following the plan easier. When needed, you can opt for meal-replacement bars, frozen dinners and even some fast food as long as you add in the ever-important MUFA [source: Flat Belly].

Speaking of MUFA, how can you be sure to include it? Here are some foods with MUFA content:

The diet does not provide much nutritional information regarding the allowed foods, including protein and fiber content. These are important aspects of any diet, so be sure you're monitoring your intake. And as always, you should check with your doctor before embarking on any diet plan.

For even more information on the Flat Belly Diet and related topics, check out the links on the following page.

Sassy Water

The Flat Belly Diet's signature drink is a blend of herbs, spices and other ingredients -- such as lemon, mint, ginger and cucumber. Drinking the water is supposed to help you avoid bloating while also combating constipation and low energy levels. Participants seem somewhat evenly split on what they think of this concoction -- some like the water and others do not [source: Zelman, Santaniello].